


Everlasting Love

by perfectromanceinmymind



Series: Canon Compliant Samcedes Headcanons [5]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectromanceinmymind/pseuds/perfectromanceinmymind
Summary: October 2022. Mercedes and Sam get married on a random Wednesday.
Relationships: Sam Evans/Mercedes Jones
Series: Canon Compliant Samcedes Headcanons [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906393
Kudos: 8





	Everlasting Love

_Hearts go astray, leaving hurt when they go - I went away just when you needed me so,_ _  
Filled with regret I come back beggin' you, forgive, forget, where's the love we once knew?  
Open up your eyes, then you'll realize here I stand with my everlasting love.  
Need you by my side, wanna be your bride - you'll never be denied everlasting love...  
From the very start, open up your heart, be a lasting part of everlasting love…  
Real love will last forever…  
  
_

October 2022

In the end, it doesn’t come as a shock, when Mercedes realizes that she’s been fooling herself all these years, insisting that she doesn’t want to be with Sam. The realization that she does want to be with him, that she loves him, has been in love with him all along, just kind of, washes over her.

After the 2020 get-together, when the auditorium was dedicated to Finn’s memory, they’d stayed in touch more regularly. Of course, Sam had always been texting her constantly, but they started making time for the phone calls and FaceTime conversations too.

Work – recording, another tour, press – had kept her busy over the next couple years. She’d made it back to Lima less than five times in two years – twice for Christmas, once for a funeral. But, after so many years spent forcing Sam to stay in the past, it was really nice to have his friendship, his humor, his constant encouragement of her. With the physical distance between them keeping their physical relationship – or lack thereof - a non-issue, their relationship deepened in a way that it hadn’t in the 77 hundred times they’d actually been a couple. Except, of course, they weren’t a couple this time. She knew he was still dating various girls – not that he ever mentioned them, she heard about them from Blaine or Artie on the rare occasions she saw either of them. And she herself went on the occasional date – but the guys never seemed to last past date two or three and while they had (mostly) been nice guys, she wasn’t really sad when things would inevitably fizzle out.

And then, one Wednesday morning in October of 2022, when she woke up and reached for her phone before even opening her eyes, hoping to see a text from Sam and then realizing that she wasn’t just hoping, she just – knew – it would be there, well, that’s when she knew.

“Oh, Lord,” she sighed. “How did this happen?”

It was a rhetorical question, of course. She knew how it happened. Somehow, her destiny had left her intertwined with Sam Evans ever since crazy little Rachel Berry got her prom threesome idea in her head all those years ago.

She still maintained that it had played out exactly as it was supposed to, though. She and Sam had contemplated marriage many times. When they were sixteen and seventeen, to save him from moving to Kentucky. When they were seventeen and eighteen, so he could have gone to LA with her. When they were nineteen and twenty and playing house in a darling New York brownstone. (Some of these instances were certainly more serious than others.) She’d loved him each of those times and part of her had wanted to go through with it every time. But – she’d also been raised to be a fiercely independent woman – and she was truly, profoundly grateful for these last eight years – for the incredible opportunities she’d had – for all she had accomplished. She had needed this time, needed to be able to finish growing up, growing into herself.

And whether Sam wanted to admit it or not, the time had been good for him too. He’d grown into himself too – a little more mature, a little more confident in his intelligence. It had taken him a long time, thanks to juggling classes around both working with the McKinley glee clubs and long hours at Hummel Tire & Lube, but he was only two semesters away from graduating from Ohio State with a degree in music education. She was so proud of him she could burst.

She’d be seeing him in just two days, when she got to Lima for the McKinley High class of 2012’s ten-year reunion. She couldn’t believe ten years had passed already since graduation. And while she was excited to see the rest of her old friends who were going to be there – she was most excited to see Sam. Who, of course, wasn’t even class of ’12 but that didn’t really matter, he was coming to the reunion events anyway. A football game on the Friday night at Lima Central High, where Coach Beiste was now since McKinley no longer had sports teams other than a few intramural clubs. A picnic in the park on Saturday afternoon, so people could bring their kids if they had them, and then a dinner-and-dancing party Saturday night and a New Directions alumni brunch at – where else? Breadstix, of course, on the Sunday before they all went back to their real lives.

Except – in the past few weeks, a stray thought had crept into her mind and was almost a full-blown plan. She’d been trying not to let herself think about it, knowing it wasn’t just cuh-ray-zee, as Sam always joked, but probably borderline insane. And yet – when she woke up on that random Wednesday in October 22, thinking about Sam and already smiling at the good morning text from him, before she even really looked at her phone – well, the plan was basically an inevitability. Before she even fully realized what she was doing, she was out of bed, showered and dressed for travel, packing the biggest suitcase she had with as much as she could fit into it and a carry-on tote too, and calling the airline to change her Friday flight to the first one she could get on that day. She took it as a sign that she was making the right decision when everything lined up perfectly. One quick stop on the way and she was on a plane to Ohio almost before she even had time to think about it. She used the wi-fi on the plane to change her rental car reservation and it was ready to go by the time she touched down in Columbus. Ninety minutes on the interstate and then she was pulling into the parking lot at McKinley not long before the final bell would sound at 2:30 pm.

Sam was only teaching two classes this year, she knew – he couldn’t be a full teacher until he completed his degree program – and then of course coaching the New Directions, but she also knew they didn’t have practice on Wednesdays. And she also knew that he used his office off the choir room to work on homework and so she knew that’s where he should be at that moment.

Sam’s head was bent over his desk, scribbling in a notebook, and he didn’t see Mercedes walking into his office, pausing in the doorway. She took a deep breath. This was it.

“Excuse me? Mr. Evans? Do you have a few minutes?”

Sam’s head snapped up, the grin already spreading across his face at the sound of the familiar voice. “Mercedes?” His voice was disbelieving even as he was jumping out of his chair and crossing the room in just a couple of strides. He threw his arms around her without even thinking about it and she hugged him back, her confidence bolstered by his effusive greeting.

“What are you doing here?” He asked as he stepped back from her and motioned her towards the chair in front of his desk.

Mercedes laughed as she sat down. “The reunion, silly. You knew I was coming for it. Class of 2012, in the house,” she added with an exaggerated raise-the-roof motion.

Sam laughed at that as he sat down in the other chair next to her, not going back to his side of the desk. “Well, yeah, I mean, I know that, but all the reunion stuff doesn’t start until Friday. It’s only Wednesday. Wait – right?” He was suddenly panicked that he’d lost half the week.

“No, no, it’s only Wednesday,” Mercedes reassured him.

“Phew,” he replied, clearly relieved as he leaned back in his chair, studying her face as if he were trying to read her mind. “So – what’s up then?”

She shrugged, realizing just how nervous she was. “I wanted to see you,” she said simply, quietly, and he didn’t reply, just kept studying her, clearly knowing there was more to it. “I’ve – been missing you,” she added, even more quietly, so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.

It still made his heart stop for a second. There was – something – in her tone and he tried to force a natural-sounding laugh. “We talk all the time. We just FaceTimed the other day.”

“I know – but – “she stopped, breathing in deeply as she closed her eyes and he waited patiently, somehow knowing that something major was about to happen.

She steeled herself and opened her eyes, praying she’d get through this and it would turn out the way she so desperately wanted it to turn out.

“Okay. I’ve been thinking – a lot – lately. Ever since we’ve been reconnected and talking more often. And in some ways, we’re closer now than we’ve ever been, right?” At his nod, she continued, “so – the thing is – all this thinking – it’s led me to – I mean –“ She took one more deep breath before meeting his eyes and saying what she’d come there to say.

“Sam – I’m ready to get married.”

He stared back at her, the words taking a minute to process through his brain.

“You’re ready – to get – marr-” he repeated before interrupting himself. “Oh. OH.”

Mercedes nodded, watching him grasp what she was saying. “I know this may seem crazy and out of nowhere – but – that’s kind of our thing, right?”

Sam nodded, almost automatically, clearly still processing, and she continued speaking.

“So – will you marry me, Sam?”

If it were possible, Sam’s eyes got even wider at those words. “I – I – “his mouth opened and closed a few more times before he seemed to get himself together. “Are you for real right now?”

Mercedes nodded, half-seriously wondering if he was going into shock. Before she could ask if he was okay, he had started talking.

“I just – in all these years of waiting for you to say yes to me, I never considered that you might ask me.”

Mercedes laughed anxiously. “I guess I owe you an apology then, because waiting for an answer and hoping it will be yes is AGONIZING,” she said, giving him a pointed look and he caught her meaning immediately.

“Oh. OH! Oh my God, Mercedes, yes, of course I want to marry you!” Sam said in a rush. “Now, yesterday, forever – I always have.” She smiled as he reached out and grabbed her hands. “When do you want to do it? The wedding, I mean, not ‘it’ – although I am curious about that part, I’ll admit – but”

Laughing for real as a wave of relief washed over her and she felt like her heart was overflowing with how much she loved him, she replied, “Well, actually – today?”

“Today? Like right now?”

Mercedes nodded. “Yeah? I looked it up and as long as at least one half of the couple is an Ohio resident, we can go to the courthouse right now and get the marriage license and there’s no waiting period, so we can also have the judge go ahead and perform the ceremony. We just need driver’s licenses and birth certificates. And it’s only- “she glanced at the clock “- it’s only just after 2:30 and the courthouse is open till 5, so we should have plenty of time.”

“Okay.” Sam nodded, jumping up from his chair. “Wait here a second.”

She stood up too, confused. “Really? Wait – what? Where are you going?”

“To get a copy of my birth certificate. There’s one in my personnel file. It’ll save us the stop at my place. I mean, you can come with me, but the files are outside Will’s office and I don’t think we have time for a conversation with him right now, right?”

He was halfway to the door already as he said this, but then he turned back and closed the distance between them in about one step and gently touched her cheek as he smiled.

“I had no idea,” he said softly, “that when I woke up today it would turn out to be the best day of my life.”

Blinking back tears, she choked out a laugh-cry hybrid of sorts as he leaned down to kiss her, a soft, sweet kiss filled with so much promise, and then he pulled away and darted out the door, calling behind him, “Be right back!”

Laughing, she sat back down, swiping away the tears with one hand before bringing her fingertips to her lips, as if trying to preserve the feel of his lips on hers. The first time they’d kissed in more years than she cared to think about.

He was back in barely ten minutes, triumphantly waving the needed paper in his hand and she stood up again as he said, “Okay, let’s go. Good thing I don’t have Glee Club this afternoon.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I know. Why do you think I came today?”

“Ahhh, clever,” he said as they made their way out to the faculty lot. “Did you park here or in the visitor’s? Do you need anything from your car?”

“Visitor’s, it’s closer to the choir room. And no, we can come back for the car after. I’ve got everything I need here,” she said, gesturing to the purse on her shoulder.

He nodded as he unlocked the passenger door of his vintage, 60’s era Bronco, and opened the door for her before going around to the driver’s side.

“This looks amazing, Sam,” she said admiringly. “I can’t believe this is like a 50-year-old truck.”

He couldn’t keep the pride from showing in his face. “Burt’s taught me so much. He and Carole have both been so good to me all these years.”

She smiled, watching him as he started the truck and backed out of the space, heading out of the school lot. Maybe it was old-fashioned or even sexist, but good Lord, there was just something about a man driving a truck… 

She shook her head. There’d be plenty of time for her thoughts to go in that direction later.

“What did you tell them you needed the birth certificate for?”

“What? Oh, that I need to get my passport renewed. I don’t, but whatever,” he answered, grinning at her. “Will wasn’t around, so that made it easier.”

It was not a long drive from McKinley to the county courthouse and they fell into a comfortable silence. Sam had about a million questions, but generally speaking, he didn’t really care what the answers were. There had been moments over the last two years that he had thought things might be shifting with Mercedes, but he was never 100% sure and it was so hard to tell over the phone, even on video calls. They’d been ‘just friends’ for so many years now, sometimes he wondered if he should just give up hope altogether that they would ever be more. But then they’d have a call and she’d smile at him and he was just done for, every time. The spark of hope would flare back up and though he’d try to stamp it out, it was a sneaky little devil, always there, burning him when he least expected.

He glanced over at her and realized she was watching him and she ducked her head, a little embarrassed to be caught full-on staring. He just grinned and at the next stoplight, reached for her hand, squeezing it tight before having to drop it so he could shift gears. She smiled.

At the courthouse, they went through security and asked the guard where to go for marriage licenses.

She pointed. “Down that hall, office on the left.” They thanked her and hurried down the hall.

“Can I help y’all?” The clerk behind the counter barely even looked up at them.

“Yes, we’d like to apply for a marriage license?” Sam said and she ruffled through the papers on her counter before shoving two copies of the same form towards them. “Each of you fill these out. Don’t sign them yet. I gotta see your IDs and birth certificates first.”

They both nodded and began filling out the information. Mercedes finished her a little faster and giggled as she neared the end of the form. Sam looked up. “What’s funny?”

She pointed at the form. “We have to affirm that we’re not first cousins.”

Sam had had a bit of a day and he didn’t fully think things through before responding, “We’re not, right?”

Mercedes laughed for real at that. “I mean, I don’t know for absolute certain, but I’m pretty sure we’re not, white boy,” she said affectionately. Sam grinned and went back to completing his form.

“New York, huh?” the clerk said as they passed their forms back to her.

“Yes, ma’am. I grew up here, though. And he still lives here,” Mercedes replied as they handed over their documentation. “And I’ll be mostly living here again soon.”

Sam glanced at her – this was certainly one of the questions he had about this whole thing, so he would definitely need her to expound on that further at some point.

The clerk just nodded, clearly not at all enthralled by nor curious about their love story and what brought them to be married at the courthouse on a random Wednesday afternoon. But even though she was basically bored by them, she was also efficient and processed their paperwork quickly, and in no time they found themselves the proud owners of a document stating that they could legally be married. And then they were in front of the judge and he called the records clerk and some other lady in to be their witnesses and ten minutes later, the ‘I dos’ were complete and the judge was declaring them husband and wife.

“Congratulations, son. You may kiss your bride.”

Sam’s eyes met Mercedes’ and he felt like he could see everything she was thinking, because he was thinking it too – oh my God, we did it – oh my God, I love you – oh my God, we’re INSANE – and oh my God, none of it matters, because we’re together forever now – and then he leaned in and kissed her and she smiled against his lips, whispering, “I love you” and he just nodded, pressing his forehead against hers, afraid that if he spoke, his voice would betray the torrent of emotion racing through his body. After a moment, they both pulled themselves together and turned to thank the judge and accept his and the witnesses congratulations.

The clerk kindly snapped a photo of them with the judge before they went on their way, back to the Bronco, and got back in, the atmosphere feeling completely different now, somehow. This time, Mercedes slid right up beside Sam on the old-school bench front seat, resting her head on his shoulder as their knees touched. He turned his head, kissing the top of hers, before starting the truck and heading back out on the street.

“Back to the school for your car?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Yeah. And then I guess to your place?” Then she smiled, a little shyly. “Well, I guess it’s my place now too.”

Sam grinned. “Everything I own is yours now, according to the state of Ohio,” he joked before adding with a frown, “Although I don’t actually OWN the apartment, so I’m not totally sure how that works.”

Mercedes waved a dismissive hand. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Figure it out when you move back to Ohio?” Sam asked and he could almost feel her sheepish grin against his chest.

“Well, I wasn’t going to ask you to move to New York. You’d be miserable, even if you didn’t already have a whole life here.”

“But will you be happy here?”

Mercedes shrugged as she lifted her head and angled herself towards him. “I mean, half the time I wasn’t even home for it to matter where I lived. And when I was home, I was usually bored. And lonely,” she admitted. “I mean, I saw Kurt and Blaine every now and then, Artie sometimes, a few other people here and there, some of my other, non-high school glee club friends, but everyone’s so busy. I literally haven’t seen Rachel and Jesse since the Tonys two years ago. You and I and Mr. Schue – Will – were the only ones here to go serve Christmas lunch at the shelter last year. No one else came here for the holidays.” She sighed. “And I’ve been working basically non-stop since day one of that first tour with Bey. I’m well-established enough now that I can take some time off. I’m never going to be a stratospheric star like she is. But I learned that I don’t really want that after all. Having a dedicated fan base, enough that I can sell out auditoriums and theaters and have my songs chart on iTunes, but I can still go out to dinner or shopping or, you know, randomly get married in an Ohio courthouse,” she laughed, “and not get recognized and that’s a pretty sweet spot to be in.”

Sam grinned. “I hope you’re not planning on making a habit out of courthouse weddings.”

“Only if you’re the groom every time,” she teased, stretching up to kiss his cheek and he laughed.

“So, you mentioned at the courthouse that you plan to be living in Ohio most of the time?” Sam asked, trying to keep his tone casual and not give away how badly he wanted some more explanations.

Mercedes nodded. “Yeah…although I’m realizing that I didn’t exactly think about how rude it might be to just show up and announce that I’m moving into your house…”

“Some people,” Sam agreed cheerfully. “It’s bad as those dorks from high school who just assumed you’d let them live in your first New York apartment.”

She burst out laughing at that memory. “Point taken. Okay, so here’s the thing. I want to cut back on touring. Half my meetings are either on FaceTime or Zoom these days, so I don’t need to be in New York for those. And I was thinking we could look at getting some land and building a house with a recording studio. And when I do tour, it can be either spring into summer or summer into fall, so you can come along for part of it while school’s out. And I’ll make sure I schedule around Nationals, of course.”

“Shit, Mercedes, how long have you been planning all this?” he asked, shooting her a sideways glance.

“Um. Unofficially? A while,” she admitted, sneaking a sideways glance back at him. “Just, like, bits and pieces in my brain. I didn’t write anything down or make any notes or anything. I think that helped keep me from feeling like I was actually PLANNING, as opposed to just, you know, daydreaming. Or something.”

“If this is unofficial planning, I’m suddenly glad we didn’t have a big, fancy wedding.”

“Ha!” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, and Sam, I know you and I know you’re thinking about the money thing and I’m telling you right now, it cannot become a thing that I have more of it than you. Because everything I own is now yours too and it’s OUR money. Okay? Got it?”

Sam shook his head. “How do you do that?”

She looked at him questioningly. “Do what?”  
  


“Read my mind like that.”

She exhaled in a huff. “Because, as I said, I know you.”

She was right, Sam had to concede. It was exactly what he had immediately started thinking about as soon as she mentioned building a house.

“So?” she said expectantly. “You got it?”

“Yes, ma’am. Got it,” he agreed as he pulled back into the McKinley parking lot.

“Good,” she said, kissing his cheek again. “Next week we can talk business, set up a joint account, figure out percentages to put in it and maybe call a realtor.”

“Next week?”

She nodded. “First – I thought we’d enjoy a few days of celebration. And the reunion.”

“Oh! Right! Yes! Okay,” Sam said as he turned the truck towards the visitor parking area. “Which one is yours?”

“Oh, God, I don’t know. A Chevy, I think? Sedan, white? Oh! I remember it has Tennessee plates. Because I took that as another sign that this was the right thing to do today.”

He laughed as he spotted the Malibu sedan and pulled up beside it. “And I thought I was the crazy one,” he muttered as Mercedes rolled her eyes and picked up her purse and opening the truck door.

“Hey,” he said, quickly leaning over to kiss her before she got out of the truck and she smiled. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m texting you the address so it’ll hotlink for GPS, just in case you get caught at a light or something.”

She nodded and got out of the truck, turning back to look at him even as she was digging in her bag for the car keys and her own phone. “Got it,” she said, holding up her phone so he could see the text notice.

“Okay. See you at home.”

She blew him a kiss, closed the door and got into the car. Home. She sure liked the sound of that.


End file.
